Automatic wrapping apparatus

ABSTRACT

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY WRAPPING ARTICLES WITH FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AND FOR SEALING THE WRAPPING MATERIAL AFTER THE ARTICLE HAS BEEN FULLY WRAPPED. MEANS FOR RECEVING THE ARTICLES TO BE WRAPPED ARE MOUNTED ON AN ENDLESS CONVEYER AND THE WRAPPING MATERIAL IS AUTOMATICALLY SUPPLIED ADJACENT TO THE RECEIVING MEANS SO THAT THE ARTICLES DROP ONTO SEVERABLE PORTIONS OF THE WRAPPIG AND THEREWITH IN TO THE RECEIVING MEANS. THE PARTIALLY WRAPPED ARTICLES ARE THEN PASED UNDER BRUSHES WHICH FORCE THE WRAPPING MATERIAL DOWN ONTO THE SURFACE OF THE ARTICLE FOLLOWING WHICH THE WRAPPING IS SEALED BY A SERIES OF HEATED ROLLERS AND A HEATED CHAMBER WRAPPED ARTICLE IS THEN RELEASED FROM THE RECEIVING MEANS AND THE PROCESS IS REPEATED. A CAM ASSEMBLY WHICH CONTROLS THE FEED OF THE WRAPPING MATERIAL IS OPERATIVE TO STOP THE FEED THEREOF IF THE SUPPLY OF THE ARTICLES TO THE RECEIVING MEANS IS INTERRUPTED.

Nov. 9, 1971 F, WACH ErAL 3,618,289

AUTOMATIC WRAPPING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 251. 1969 6 Sheecs-Sheet 1 -Nov. 9, 1971 F. WACH ETAL 3,618,289

AUTOMATI C WRAPPING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 3l, 1969 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 M INVENTOKS /z W5C# ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 9, 1971 F. wAcH ET AL 3,618,289

AUTOMAT I C WRAPPING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 51, 1969 esheetS-sheet 4 f@ gg INVENTUM f77/lf2. M76# ATT( )RNEYS Nov. 9, 1971 F. wAcH ErAL 3,618,289

AUTOMATIC WRAPPING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 31,v 1969 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 /C/Q. INVENTUM ,Q/fz /QC/f/ .[MefA/cf me F. WACH ET AL AUTOMATIC WRAPPING APPARATUS Nov. 9, 1971 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Jan. 3l, 1969 M v ATTORNEYS u, .MM M

/CP/fz ff/ ,gre/afm LH/weave? flag ny l/ mm// United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 53-64 30 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for automatically wrapping articles with flexible material and for sealing the wrapping material after the article has been fully wrapped. Means for receiving the articles to be wrapped are mounted on an endless conveyer and the wrapping material is automatically supplied adjacent to the receiving means so that the articles drop onto severable portions of the wrapping and therewith into the receiving means. The partially wrapped articles are then passed under brushes which force the wrapping material down onto the surface of the article following which the wrapping is sealed by a series of heated rollers and a heated chamber. The wrapped article is then released from the receiving means and the process is repeated. A cam assembly which controls the feed of the wrapping material is operative to stop the feed thereof if the supply of the articles to the receiving means is interrupted.

The present invention is related to the wrapping apparatus disclosed in the patent to Wach et al., No. 3,260,030 dated Iuly 12, 1966- and generally pertains to automatic wrapping apparatus and more particularly to such apparatus for wrapping rounded surface or generally spheroidal-shaped articles with flexible wrapping material wherein the apparatus may be provided with automatic wrapping feed means and with automatic article feed means and wherein a cam assembly is associated with the feed means to automatically stop the feed of wrapping material if the supply of articles is interrupted.

The general purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic wrapping apparatus for the wrapping of field produce articles, such as lettuce, endives, cabbage, cauliower, egg plant, grapefruit and the like. Additionally, boxed items such as grapes. strawberries or the like in half-pint, pint, or quart, plastic or wood boxes or baskets may be fully wrapped by apparatus made according to this invention. The operation of this apparatus, however, is not limited to the wrapping of edible products, but may be readily used to wrap various size and shaped articles or containers.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide for an improved automatic apparatus for wrapping articles with flexible wrapping material.

Another object is to provide such an apparatus which includes an automatic article feed arrangement.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such an apparatus which includes an assembly for automatically supplying the wrapping material.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a cam arrangement associated with the wrapping 3,6l8,289 Patented Nov. 9, 1971 material feed assembly whereby the feed of the wrapping material is stopped if the supply of articles is interrupted.

Still another object is to provide such an apparatus which seals the wrapping material after the article has been fully wrapped.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art as the disclosure is made in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying sheets of drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a partially diagrammatic elevational view of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a plan view, also partially diagrammatic, of the FIG. l apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a partially diagrammatic elevational view of the apparatus taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 shows a partially diagrammatic elevational view of the apparatus taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a plan view, also partially diagrammatic, of the article feed assembly of the apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a partially diagrammatic elevational view of the assembly shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a detailed view, partly in cross-section, of an article receiving means of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the receiving means illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a detailed plan view of one of the heated rollers;

FIG. 10 details particulars relating to the roller shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. l1 is an elevational view of the heating chamber of the apparatus;

FIG. l2 is a perspective view of the cam assembly of the apparatus;

FIG. 13 is an elevational view, partially in section, of the cam mechanism;

FIG. 14 shows a section of the cam assembly taken on the lines 14-14 of FIG. 13 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic illustration depicting successive steps in effecting a fully wrapped and sealed article.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIGS. 1-4 the apparatus of this invention which includes an endless conveyor 20 having on opposite sides of its longitudinal path endless drive chains 22 meshed with the teeth of drive sprockets 24 at one end and idler or driven sprockets 2-6 at the other end of the conveyor line. Electric motor 28 drives the sprockets 24 via shaft 30, pulley 32, belt 34, and pulley 36 secured to shaft 318 on which the sprockets 24 are carried.

In addition, a plurality of article receiving means or containers 40 are connected to chains 22, there being twelve such containers illustrated for exemplary purposes only. The details of the article receiving containers are illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.

In the container `40 of FIGS. 7 and 8, a base portion 42 is rotatably mounted on disc-shaped member 43 with bearings or other elements 45 and the member 43 is fastened by any convenient means to a cross-bar piece 44 which is connected to chains 22. The base portion includes a centered aperture 46 and a recessed surface 48 adapted to contain a pusher member 50 having a stem which fits within the aperture 46 and a planar surface yarea 52 which fits into the recess 48. Three bracket arms 54 are pivotally attached to the base portion 42 within the recessed area 48, and each bracket arm includes a pivot foot 56 which extends inwardly from the base of the bracket arm and into contact with the upper surface of pusher member 50. Three springs 58 couple each of the bracket arms 54 together at the upper portions thereof.

FIGS. l and 2 'also show supply means for automatically feeding the fiexible wrapping material `60 into the apparatus. A supply roll `62 contains the flexible wrapping material, which may be formed of polypropylene oriented polystyrene film sold under the trademark Trycite, or any one of numerous other well known flexible wrapping materials. Prior to initiating operation of the apparatus, the flexible wrapping is taken from supply roll 62 and is fed over idler roller 64, around first feed roller 66, between roller `68 and cutter means or roller 70, past roller 72 and into contact between endless friction belts 74, 76, 78 and 80. The friction belts 70-80 are driven by pulleys -82-96. It should be understood that various drive arrangements may be used in order to move the various supply rolls and pulleys, with only one example being represented in FIG. 1 for the purpose of explanation. In this example, a chain 98 is connected from the idler sprocket 26 to the first feed roller 66 so that the movement of the sprocket 26 and of the roller 66 is in a counterclockwise direction. A second chain 100 is connected between the first feed roller 66 and roller `68 while a crossed chain 102 is coupled between roller `68 and cutter means or roller 70. This arrangement thus enables roller 68 to turn in a counter-clockwise direction with the movement of wrapping material 60 while at the same time allowing cutter roller 70, having a cutting edge 104 thereon, to rotate in a clockwise direction with the movement of wrapping material 60 so that the cutting surface 104 gradually engages the wrapping material as it passes by so as to result in the partial cutting of the wrapping material across its width at periodic points along its length.

A chain 106 is coupled between roller 68 and pulley 82 so that the movement of pulleys 82 `and 90 and of the associated friction belts 74 is in a counter-clockwise direction. The idler pulley 84 is coupled to pulley 186 by means of crossed chains 108 so that the movement of pulleys 86 and 94 and the associated friction belt 76 is in a clockwise direction.

FIG. 1 'also illustrates article presenting means wherein the articles to be wrapped are conveyed to a position above a container 40 and wherein the article is forced downwardly into contact with a severable portion of the wrapping material 60 and into a respective one of the containers or receiving means 40. FIGS. land -6 show more detailed representations of the article presenting means. An endless conveyor belt 110 is driven by drive roller 112 in conjunction with idler rollers 114, 116 and 118, and is fed by chute 113. The drive roller 112 is mechanically linked to pulley y88 by means of a chain or belt 120 so that the movement of rollers 112-1118 and of conveyor belt 110 is in `a clockwise direction. The conveyor belt 110 includes a plurality of equally spaced yapart stations that are characterized by at least two slits 119 and 121 wh1ch are oriented generally perpendicularly with respect to one another so that the slits allow the creation of an openingfor an article in the conveyor belt 110 upon the application of pressure to the article by the impeller means or plunger 122. The plunger may be solenoid actuated so that the head portion 124 (FIG. 6) would be urged downwardly by the action of spring 126 whenever the solenoid (not shown) is cle-activated by the depressing of switch 1218 from contact with cam located on pulley 116, for example. The switch 128 may be spring loaded so that it normally maintains a completed circuit from the -power source 132 through the solenoid. However, the camming action of cam 130 against the switch 128 will cause the energy to the solenoid from power source 132 to be momentarily interrupted so that the normally compressed spring 126 Will cause the movable head portion 124 to be extended downwardly against an article so as to force it through the opening caused by slits 119 and 121, through the wrapping material `60 and into a container 4() which is located beneath the plunger 122. Another embodiment of plunger 122 represented in FIG. 5 wherein the plunger is rigidly affixed to the end of shaft 134 which is mechanically coupled by means of chain 136 and sprockets 138 and 140 to the shaft of pulley 116. By a suitable choice of sprockets 138 and 140, the rotation of plunger 122 can be timed so that it will contact an article located in one of the stations formed by slits 119 and 121 so as to downwardly impel the article into the appropriate container located beneath the plunger. In each of the embodiments represented in FIGS. 5 and 6, the proper timing of the plunger movements or rotation is determined in a well known way by controlling the gearing ratios between idler sprocket 26, and drive pulley 112. Still a third and a simpler embodiment for the plunger 122 would be merely utilize an idler roller (not shown) which would ride up and over the articles as they passed thereunder so as to force the articles through the belt 110 and into the proper container 40.

As indicated in FIG. 1, a loading station is located beneath the plunger 122, and the container located at that station is automatically filled with an article 140 having a severed portion of flexible wrapping material 60 partially surrounding the article. The wrapping material is withdrawn from the supply roll 62 and is ultimately fed between friction belts 74-76 which pull the material forward between the belts underneath the article presenting means and over the path followed by containers 40 as they move along in a counter-clockwise direction. When a container reaches the loading station position, the plunger 122 acts to contact the top portion of the article 140 so as to downwardly impel the article into contact with a portion of the wrapping material 60 which is severable because of the partial cutting action of the cutting roller 70 and the cutting edge 104. The article thus passes through the severable portion of the wrapping material and is deposited within the container located at the loading station position. A cam bar 142 is located beneath the loading station position so that the stem portion of pusher member 50 in each of the containers 40 contacts the cam bar so as to force the pusher member in an upward direction against the pivot feet 56 of the bracket arms 54. This causes the outward pivoting of the bracket arms, as shown in FIG. 7, so that the article 140 may readily enter the container 40.

The filled container then moves forward in the direction of arrow 144 as sprocket wheels 24 and 26 are driven counter-clockwise. Upon passing the leftward end of the cam bar 142 (FIG. l), the pusher member 50 is forced down so that the upper portion 52 thereof is returned to contact with the recessed surface 48 of the base portion 42. This return of the pusher member is caused by the combined effects of gravity thereon with the downward forces exerted by the pivot feet 56 as caused by the action of springs 58 in returning the bracket arms 54 to their normal upright positions.

The length of the conveying path between the loading station and the beginning of the wrapping area may be of any desired distance, according to (inter alia) the total number of containers 40 which the conveyor 20 carries.

As the container 40 continues its forward movement, the base portion 42 frictionally contacts article rotating means or friction bar 146 (FIG. 3) which is mounted on one side of the path of the container assembly so that as the container is caused to move forward it will rotate in the direction of arrow 148, i.e. clockwise in the plan view of FIG. 2.

Immediately before the container 40 contacts the friction bar 146, however, the wrapping material which is partially disposed around the article 140, except for a given upper area of the article surface where the wrapping material extends generally outwardly from the article, is blown in an upward direction by air streams emitted from air jets 150` and 152 which are located immediately adjacent to the center line of the path followed by the containers 40 and immediately in front of brushes 154 and 156. The upward rush of air urges the wrapping material around the article 140 to an upright position in order to more readily facilitate the folding of the wrapping material over the upper surface of the article by the brushes 154 and 156 as the article 140 and the container 40 are moved forward and underneath the brushes.

Because of the frictional contact of the base portion 42 of the container 40 with the friction bar 146, the article and its container rotate about a vertical axis which is perpendicular to their forward movement path as effected by conveyor chains 22. To effect the complete wrapping of the article by that part of the wrapping material which extends outwardly from the upper rounded or spheroidal surface of the article 140 in the container, three successive rotary brushes 160-164 driven by electrical motor 166, shaft 168, pulley 170, belt 172, pulley 174 and shaft 178 are disposed above the path of the container and of the article so as to engage the wrapping material and the article as they pass under the brushes to further fold the wrapping material over the top portion of the article. The brush 156 extends along the path of the container and of the article from a point immediately following the position of the air jets 150 and 152 to the leftwardmost side of the rotary brush 164 as seen in FIG. l. The brush 154 extends along the path from the same point immediately adjacent to the air jets 150 and 152 to the rightward side of rotary brush 160. In addition, brush segments 180 and 182 are located between rotary brushes 1'60-162 and 162-164, respectively. Also located adjacent to the path of the container and of the article 140, but below the path, are air jets 184- 188. Each of the jets is directed in an upward direction and jet 184 is located between rotary brushes 160 and 162 while jet 186 is located between brushes 162 and 164. The position of air jet 188 is immediately following the roller 164 along and under the path of the container 40.

The brushes 154, 156, 160-164, 180 and 182 are positioned above the contained article at a vertical distance suflicient to effect brushing contact between the brushes, the wrapping material and the articles being wrapped so -as to exert a downward pressure and effect in combination with the forward and rotary motion of the container a folding of the wrapping material over the top of the articles.

As the container passes from under the last of the rotary brushes 164, the article 140 in the container is fully wrapped, and the container moves forward into the sealing or annealing section of the apparatus. At this point, friction bar 146 preferably ends, thereby ending the rotational movement of the container. A permanent or electro-magnet 190 is also located adjacent to the path of the container with its lines of iiux directed generally perpendicularly to and across the path. The magnet, together with the ending of the friction bar 146, stops the rotational movement of the container. The positioning of the magnet must be such that it will not act to stop the rotational movement of the container until the article and the container have completely passed from under the last rotary brush 164. However, it must also be placed ahead of the sealing section of the apparatus so that the rotational movement of the container is stopped prior to its entry into the sealing section and under the rollers 192.

In the sealing section, the folds effected on top of the article in the Wrapping area are now sealed to result in a fully sealed enclosure of the wrapping material around the article. As previously stated, wrapping materials of 'various types may be used, but the material must be of the type which may be sealed onto itself by the application of heat and moderate pressure. Wrapping materials of this type are Well known in the art, for example, ilexible plastic film sheets made of polyethylene, polypropylene or Trycite. The sealing section or annealing section, as it also may be called, includes a plurality of heatable rollers 192, four such rollers being illustrated for exemplary purposes, it being understood that more or less may be used as required. These rollers extend transversely of the path of the wrapped article and its container and are each pivotally mounted for movement in a vertical direction up and over the wrapped article as it passes beneath the rollers. FIGS. 9 and l0 illustrate the manner in which the rollers are mounted wherein pin members 194 pivotally mount arm members 196 of the roller assemblies to frame member 198 of the apparatus. Welded or otherwise rigidly attached to the arm members 196 is suspension member 200 from which the roller 192 is suspended by means of brackets 202. The roller 192 is freely rotatable on end bearings 204 from which extend jack shafts 206 into an aperture in the brackets 202. These brackets, in turn, are secured to the suspension member 200 by screws or other conventional means. Suspended from frame members 208 of the apparatus are guide pins 210 which extend downwardly and through apertures 212 in suspension member 200. In addition, each of the heated roller assemblies is supported in its normal position by support member 214 which is rigidly fixed (not shown) to the frame assembly of the apparatus.

The heating of each roller 192 is preferably accomplished by including internally of cylinder 192` a heating element such as a Calrod heat unit 216, with electrical connections thereto being made by conductors 218 that extend through one of the jack shafts 206. Conductors 218, in turn, are connected to a power source 220, including a breaker box if desired, through a thermostat 222. The heating units of the different sealing rollers 192 may all `be connected in parallel with power source 220, if desired. Thus, each of the sealing rollersl 192 is heated and pivotally mounted at the proper height so as to apply not only heat but also the proper amount of pressure to the upper surface area of the wrapped article in a container 40 as it passes under the rollers 192.

As a container 40 and its contents continue to move forward, the container enters heated chamber 226 formed by the enclosure 228. The passing of the wrapped article therethrough results in the further heating of the wrapping material surrounding the article so as to further fuse the Wrapping material together to form a tightly sealed wrapper. A pair of fans are located within housings 230 and 232 which are conventionally attached to the enclosure 228 with the suction sides of the fans in Huid registry with the enclosure 226. The opposite sides of the fau -housings 230 and 232 are coupled to ducts 234 and 236, respectively, and these ducts open into a heater 238, which may include a series of wire turns 240 connected to a source of electrical energy (not shown) whereby air passing through the heater passes across the heated coils 240 which impart thermal energy to the air. The opposite end of the heater is connected to the top of enclosure 228 by heating duct 242. Thus, heated air is continuously recirculated from the chamber 226 through the fans located in housings 230 and 232, through ducts 234 and 236 into heater 238 and back into chamber 226.

As the container 40 and its wrapped contents continue to move forward, the container starts turning upside down due to its following of the downwardly curving path of conveyor chains 22. As the container approaches a tilting position, the stem of pusher member 50 engages the cam 250 which is fixedly mounted directly beneath the path of the containers 40 and wherein the cam is characterized by a gradually increasing radius followed by a gradually decreasing radius whereby the stem of pusher member 50 of each of the containers 40 is gradually engaged and disengaged by the cam 250 so as to result in the outward pivoting of bracket arms 54. As the container approaches an upside down position, its wrapped and sealed contents are thus discharged by gravity into a tunnel or a chute 252.

Still another unique `feature of the invention is illustrated in FIGS 12-14 and in FIG. l. The first supply roll `66 includes a cam or clutch as illustrated in FIGS. 12-14, and the roll 66 has a shaft 254 on which is fixedly mounted a supporting plate 256. Also, loosely mounted on shaft 254 is drum 258 which has a generally square shaped aperture 260 therein. Rigidly fixed to the drum 258 but also free wheeling with respect to shaft 254 is sprocket wheel 262 around which is located chain 98 which is connected to the sprocket wheel 26. Supported on plate 256 is solenoid 264 pivotally connected to a lever arm 266, which is pivotally mounted on the plate 256 at the point 268. A first generally yoke-shaped member 270 is pivotally mounted to and around the lever arm 266 at point 272 and the yoke-shaped member 270 has a unitary end portion 274 opposite to the pivoted end for selective engagement with the aperture 260 of the drum. A biasing arm 276 is also pivotally attached to the lever arm at point 272 and is oriented between the yoke portions of the yoke-shaped member 270. A second generally yoke-shaped member 278 has one end rigidly affixed to the first yoke-shaped member and has a second undivided end 280 through which a screw 282 or other adjustable means passes in adjustable cooperative relationship with the biasing arm 276 for controlling the spaced relationship between the second yoke-shaped member 278 and the biasing arm. A first biasing means or spring 284 is oriented with one end fixedly attached with respect to the supporting plate at 286 and a second end fixedly attached to the biasing arm 276 for controlling the position of the biasing arm. A second biasing means or spring 288 is attached between the biasing arm 276 and the first yoke-shaped member 270 so as to oppose the adjustable controlling means or screw 282 whereby the relative spaced relationship of the biasing arm with respect to the first and second yoke-shaped members is determined.

In addition, one or more switches 290 (FIG. 1) are in electrical circuit relationship with the solenoid 264 and are located above the path of the containers 40. Each of the switches 2.90 has at least one movable arm member 292 attached thereto for normally maintaining the switch in closed circuit relationship with respect to the solenoid 264 so that the solenoid is energized during normal operation of the apparatus. The movable arm member 292 extends downwardly into a position coinciding with a projected position of the supplied wrapping material 60 beyond and to the left of the loading station as represented in FIG. 1. Thus, under normal operating conditions the articles 140 drop through the wrapping material 60 and into the containers 40 as each container presents itself at the loading station. In this way, the severable portions of the wrapping material are constantly separated and fall with the article into the appropriate container so that the movable arm member 292 is not contacted by the wrapping material 60 traveling beyond the loading station position. The switch 290 is, therefore, closed during normal operation of the apparatus and the solenoid 264 (FIG. l2) is energized so that the arm 294 thereof is held inwardly of the solenoid so that the end portion 274 of. first yoke-member 270 is extended through the aperture 260 so as to engage the drum 258. By thus engaging the drum, the movement of the drum, as caused by chain 98, is transmitted through the support plate 256 and into shaft 254 of first supply roller 66, and the supply roller is caused to move in such a way as to withdraw the wrapping material 60 from the supply drum 62 and to provide a continuous supply of wrapping material to the cutter wheel 70 and to the friction belts 74-80.

However, should the articles not be continuously supplied to each of the containers 40 as they pass the loading station, each of the severable portions of the wrapping material 60 will not be severed and the wrapping material 60 will continue on between the friction belts 74-80 and into contact with movable arms 292i. This contact will cause the arms to move and to electrically open the switches 290 so that the power to solenoid 264 will be interrupted. The solenoid arm 294 will then move outwardly so as to cause lever arm 266 to pivot in a generally clockwise direction around point 268, as represented in FIG. 13. This movement of lever arm 266 will cause the corresponding movement of first-yoke member 270 so as to withdraw the end portion 274 thereof. inwardly through the aperture 260 in disengaging relationship with the drum 258. The action of springs 284 and 288 also aid in the retraction of the end portion 274, and a stopper 296 is located on supporting plate 256 and limits the retracting movement of yoke member 270. With the end portion so retracted, the drum `258 will continue to be driven by the action of chain 98 in conjunction with sprocket 262, but because the drum 258 is freely movable on shaft 254 and because the end portion 274 is no longer engaged with the drum, the drum will merely rotate without causing rotation of first feed roller 66 and the shaft `254 associated therewith. As a result, the feed of wrapping material 60y is stopped so as to prevent the continuous feeding of the material between the friction belts 74-80 and beyond the lefltward ends thereof (FIG. 1). As soon as the supply of articles is again provided, that portion of the wrapping material which is located between the loading station and the tip of movable arms 292 may be manually removed so as to allow the return of the arms 292 to their normal position whereby the switches 290 are again electrically closed to complete the circuit with solenoid 264. Upon the energization of the solenoid, the inward movement of solenoid arm 294 results in the movement of end portion 274 outwardly against the inner portion of drum 258. As the drum continues to rotate the aperture 260 will soon come to a position over the end portion 274 which end will then force itself through the aperture to engage the drum and to result in movement of shaft 254 and of first supply roll 66. The wrapping material is thus again supplied in the normal manner and the apparatus can continue its normal operation.

With reference now to FIG. 15, there is diagrammatically shown in two rows the steps that are effected during the closing of the wrapping material upon the upper surface of the article being wrapped. The upper row of FIG. l5 illustrates a plan view of the article and its wrapping material as successively operated on by the equipment partially diagrammed in the lower row of FIG. 15. The loading station is represented by section I, four wrapping positions by sections IIa, IIb, IIC, IId and IIe, and a sealing or annealing position by section III. At the loading station I, wrapping material 60 extends in the container 4t) underneath the article 140 that is to be mapped, with edges of the wrapping material extending outwardly from the article. At the first folding station, the brushes 154 and 156 ride over the article 140 and the wrapping material so as to push the outwardly extending material backwardly and downwardly onto the top of the article as the article is rotated and moved forward in the direction of the arrow 144. The section 300 of wrapping matcrial has been pushed over the top of the article by brushes 154 and 156 and then proceeds under first rotary brush 160 at station IIb where the fold 300 is again urged against the upper portion of the article while a second fold 302.` is started by the action of the brush 160. The article continues forward in a rotating manner to station IIc beneath brushes 1280 and 156. The second fold 302 is here more completely pressed against the upper portion of the article while a third fold 304 is begun bv the pressure of the brushes against the wrapping material and the article. Then at wrapping station IId the article passes under the second rotary brush 162 where the folds 302 and 304 are further flattened against the upper surface of the article while an additional fold 306 begins to form. Moving on to the wrapping station IIe, the brushes 182 and 156 cause the creation now of still another fold 308, and this fold is further flattened by the last rotary brush 164 as the article moves thereunder. Thus, by the time the article has passed from station IIa to station IIe, it has rotated a total of at least 360 so that the article is completely wrapped.

This explanation with regard to the folding process that occurs in stations II of FIG. 15, is somewhat theoretical since in the actual operation of the equipment perfect folding and pleating is not necessarily effected, because folding tendencies of the wrapping material may vary from one wrapping station to the next according to various factors including the shape of the surface of the article and its angular orientation at the different stations.

At station III in FIG. 1S, the fully wrapped articles is indicated as being sealed by a pivoted one of the annealing rollers 192 which apply heat and the proper amount of pressure to cause a seal of the wrapping material onto itself.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that there is provided by this invention a wrapping device which automatically feeds the articles to be wrapped and the wrapping material together wherein the wrapping material is automatically made to enclose the article to be Wrapped, which may be any one of numerous variable-shaped objects, such as fresh produce.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing description discloses only preferred embodiments of the invention but that numerous Imodifications or alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for wrapping with flexible material an article of the type that has at least a portion of its periphery in the form of a generally rounded surface, comprising:

means for receiving a said article and for moving the said article forward along a given path;

means located adjacent to at least a portion of said given path for supplying said flexible wrapping material;

means at least partially located adjacent to said supplying means for periodically presenting a said article above a portion of said wrapping material and above said receiving means;

means in movable spaced relationship with said presenting means for causing the said article to be downwardly impelled into contact with a severable portion of said wrapping material and into said receiving means, said wrapping material being disposed around the said article except for a given upper area of said surface where it extends generally outwardly from said article;

article rotating means adjacent to a portion of said given path and operative to contact a portion of said receiving means for rotating said receiving means and said partially-wrapped article about an axis perpendicular to said path direction as they move along said ath;

rs brush means oriented above a portion of said given path and generally parallel thereto for closing l0 the wrapping material flatwise against said rounded surface;

second rotary brush means disposed over said path for rotating in a plane generally perpendicular to said path and for forcing said outwardly extending material inwardly over said upper area of said article as said receiving means moves by;

means located along said path for stopping the rotation of said receiving means after said receiving means has emerged from under said second rotary brush means;

means, including downwardly pressing heated means disposed over said path and said receiving means and operative on said wrapping material as said article moves along in a non-rotating manner for sealing the wrapping material around said article;

heated chamber means disposed over said path and at least partially surrounding said moving article for heating and further sealing said Wrapping materials; and

means operatively associated with said receiving means for enabling the removal of said completely wrapped article therefrom.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said receiving means includes:

a base portion having a centered aperture therein and at least one generally planar dimension;

a plurality of bracket arms spaced around and pivotally attached to said base portion for pivotal movement in planes perpendicular to the planar dimension of said base portion;

each of said bracket arms including a pivot foot extending inwardly from the base of said 'bracket arm; and

a pusher member movably fitted within said aperture and in engagement with said pivot feet for causing the outward pivoting of said bracket arms upon upward movement of said pusher member against said pivot feet.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein each of said bracket arms is movably attached to adjacent ones of said arms for maintaining said arms in normally upright positions generally perpendicular to said base portion, for enabling the outward pivoting of said arms upon upward movement of said pusher member. and for enabling the return of said arms to said upright positions upon retraction of said pusher member.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said bracket arms are generally T-shaped.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said article presenting means includes:

endless conveyer means having equally spacer stations for holding said articles and for enabling said articles to be forced through said conveyer means by said impelled means to said receiving means.

6. Apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said stations are characterized by at least two slits in said conveyer means oriented generally perpendicularly with respect to one another whereby said slits allow the creation of an opening for a said article in said conveyer means when said impelling means contacts the said article located at a said station.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said article presenting means further includes:

mean for placing a said article at said station.

8. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said impelling means includes:

solenoid means and a mallet in operative relationship for periodically pushing said articles into said receiving means.

9. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said article rotating means includes a friction bar cooperating with said receiving means to rotate the article and receiving means by friction because of the forward movement of said receiving means.

10. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said means for stopping rotation of said receiving means includes at least one magnet having its lines of magnetic flux directed generally perpendicularly to and across said path.

11. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said downwardly pressing heated means include:

gravity-biased heated roller assemblies pivotally mounted to said apparatus for movement in a generally upward direction;

said roller being freely rotatable and mounted to contact said wrapping material over the upper portion of the articles being wrapped, the heat from said rollers fusing the upper portions of said wrapping material together to seal said articles within said material.

12. Apparatus as in claim 11 further including:

support means for supporting said roller assemblies wherein said rollers engage the upper portions of said articles and ride upwardly and over said articles as the articles pass beneath said heated rollers.

13. Apparatus as in claim 12 wherein said assemblies further include:

horizontally oriented roller support beams having apertures therein; and

guide pins iixedly attached to said apparatus for loose engagement within said apertures whereby said assemblies are maintained in desired orientation.

14. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said heated charnber means include:

a chamber over said path for at least partially enclosing said receiving means and said articles as they pass through said chamber;

heater means for heating air passing therethrough;

fan means in uid relationship with said chamber; and

duct means connecting said fan means and said heater means whereby air is continuously recirculated from said heater means through said chamber to heat said wrapping material surrounding said articles and to seal said articles within said material.

15. Apparatus as in claim 1 further including:

first cam means oriented generally parallel to said path for engaging a portion of said receiving means and for thereby opening said receiving means to accept a said article from said presenting means.

16. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said means for enabling the removal of said completely wrapped articles from said receiving means includes:

second cam means for engaging a predetermined portion of said receiving means after said receiving means has passed through said heated chamber means.

17. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said flexible wrapping supply means includes:

a supply roll of flexible wrapping material;

a rst feed roller having a shaft mechanically linked to and driven by said means for moving the said article, for selectively withdrawing said wrapping from said supply roll;

cam means fixedly coupled to one end of said irst feed roller shaft;

drum means movably mounted on the shaft of said first feed roller for selective rigid engagement with said cam means to enable the selective movement of said first feed roller and the selective withdrawal of wrapping from said supply roll;

cutter means mechanically linked to said cam means and in spaced relationship with said wrapping for periodically at least partially cutting said wrapping as it passes by said cutter means; and

a plurality of endless friction belts mechanically linked to said cam means and in predetermined cooperating frictional relationship with one another and with said wrapping for drawing said wrapping along between said belts whereby a said article can be dropped onto said wrapping from said supplying means and into said receiving means, said wrapping being severed by the weight of said dropped article where said cutter means has at least partially cut said wrapping, said wrapping thus being disposed around the said article except for a given upper area of said surface where it extends generally outwardly from the said article. 18. Apparatus as in claim 17 wherein said cutter means is biased against said wrapping.

19. Apparatus as in claim 17 wherein said cam means includes:

a supporting plate;

a solenoid mounted on said plate and having a normally extended solenoid arm;

a lever arm pivotally mounted at each end thereof to said solenoid arm and to said supporting plate respectively;

a first generally yoke-shaped member having one end pivotally mounted to and around said lever arm;

said first yoke-shaped member having a second end portion opposite said pivoted end for selective rigid engagement with said drum means;

a biasing arm pivotally attached to said lever arm and between the yoke portions of said first yoke-shaped member;

a second generally yoke-shaped member having one end rigidly affixed to said first yoke-shaped member and having a second undivided end;

means in adjustable cooperative relationship with said second yoke-shaped member and with said biasing arm for controlling the spaced relationship therebetween;

first biasing means having one end fixedly attached with respect to said supporting plate and a. second portion fixedly attached to said biasing arm for controlling the position of said biasing arm; and

second biasing means attached between said biasing arm and said fixed yoke-shaped member for opposing the adjustable controlling means to determine the relative spaced relationship of said biasing arm with respect to said first and second yoke-shaped members.

20. Apparatus as in claim 19` further including:

an electrical energy source in circuit with said solenoid lfor maintaining said solenoid energized during normal operation of said apparatus;

switch means in controlling circuit relationship with said ener-gy source and said solenoid; and

at least one movable arm member attached to said switch means for maintaining said switch means in closed circuit relationship during normal operation of said apparatus;

said arm member extending into a position coinciding with a projected position of said supplied wrapping material beyond a loading position where said article is impelled into said receiving means;

said arm member being deflected by said wrapping to open said switch means and de-energize said solenoid if said wrapping is not severed by a downwardly impelled article whereby the second end portion of said first yoke-shaped member is disengaged from said drum means to stop movement of said first feed roller and to stop further feeding of said wrapping into said apparatus.

21. Apparatus for wrapping with flexible material an article that is at least roughly of spheroidal shape, comprising:

means for rotating a said article about a given axis and for simultaneously moving that article forward along a given path perpendicular to the axis of rotation with the said wrapping material disposed around that article except for a given surface area thereof which generally faces a direction parallel to said rotation axis and from which area the Wrapping material surrounding that area generally extends outwardly, and

brush means, including at least one stationary brush extending over and in the direction of said path, and brush rotation means and at least one rotatable brush 13 rotated thereby at the side of said path for folding the said outwardly extending wrapping material closingly flatwise against the said given surface area of the article as it rotates and moves forward as aforesaid.

22. Apparatus for wrapping with flexible material an article that is at least roughly spheroidal shape, cornprising means for'rotating a said article about a given axis with the said wrapping material being disposed around that article except for a given surface area thereof which generally faces a direction parallel to said rotation axis and from which area the wrapping material surrounding that area generally extends outwardly,

stationary brush means extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to said article rotation axis, yj means for moving said rotating article relative to said stationary brush means in a path substantially parallel to the aforesaid second direction to cause the brush means to brush over the aforesaid surface area, and

means including said brush means for'causing the said outwardly extending wrapping material to be closingly wrapped iiatwise against the said given surface area torjetfect a fully wrapped article when said rotating article is moved as aforesaid,

wherein the said means for causing the outwardly extending lmaterial to be closingly wrapped flat against the said given surface area of the article being wrapped includes brush rotation means and second brush means rotated thereby and disposed at the side of said path adjacent said `first-mentioned stationary brush means for pushing the said outwardly extending wrapping material inwardly over the said given surface area.

23. Apparatus as in claim 22 including at least one article container and wherein said relative moving means causes said article to move forward along said path in said container, said article rotating means including a friction surface on said container and an effective friction bar cooperating with said friction surface to rotate the container and article because of the said forward movement of the container.

24. Apparatus as in claim 22 wherein said stationary first brush means extends along said path, said second brush means being disposed toward a side of the path, said apparatus including air jet means disposed adjacent the said second brush pushing means for assisting the wrapping by said first and second brush means.

25. Apparatus as in claim 22 wherein said second brush pushing means includes a rotatable shaft extending in said second direction and carrying a plurality of spaced circular brushes and means for rotating said shaft to effect repeated pushing of the said wrapping material over the said given surface area as an article rotates and moves relative to said first brush means as aforesaid.

26. Apparatus for wrapping with flexible material an article that is at least roughly spheroidal shape, comprising:

means forrotating a said article about a given axis with the said wrapping material being disposed around that article except for a given surface area thereof which generally faces a direction parallel to said rotation axis and from which area the wrapping material surrounding that area generally extends outwardly,

stationary brush means extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the said article rotation axis,

means for moving said rotating article relative to said stationary brush means in a path substantially parallel to the aforesaid second direction to cause the brush means to brush over the aforesaid surface area, and means including said brush means for causing the said outwardly extending wrapping material to be closingly wrapped flatwise against the said given surface area to effect a fully wrapped article when said rotating article is moved as aforesaid,

means for sealing the said fully wrapped article, and

means disposed upstream from said sealing means for positively stopping rotation of the fully wrapped articles to prevent upwrapping thereof by said sealing means.

27. Apparatus for wrapping with flexible wrapping material, an article of the type that has a generally rounded surface area comprising:

means for holding a said article with a portion of said surface area protruding upwardly as the top of the article with said wrapping material underneath and extending therferom generally upward and outward on all sides along the top of the article,

means for moving said holding means along a given path, means for rotating said holding means and consequently the article held as aforesaid about a given axis while same move along a given length of said path, plurality of Ifirst stationary brush means extending along said path at least partially for spaced lengths along said gi'ven length above the height of said holding means so as to contact the wrapping material and article and brush the wrapping material down thereon as the article is rotated and moved along said given length of path to effect a fully wrapped article, and brush rotation means and a plurality of second brush means rotated thereby and disposed at the side of said path and respectively between said spaced lengths for pushing successive sections of said wrapping material inwardly down onto the top of the rotating article as and just before the said moving means causes the article being held to move under the next brush means in a said spaced length. 28. Apparatus as in claim 27 wherein said plurality of brush means include first longitudinal stationary brushes extending generally over said given path and generally parallel thereto, and spaced second longitudinal brushes for preventing unfolding of rolled down wrapping material while the respective first brush means are operating,

said second brush means including a common shaft extending parallel to said given path and carrying a plurality of spaced circular brushes wherein said circular brushes are located in respective spaces between said spaced first longitudinal brushes. 29. Apparatus as in claim 27 wherein said article holding means is at least partially made of metal and the apparatus includes magnetic means adjacent said path following said given length thereof for stopping any rotation thereat of said holding means.

30. Apparatus for wrapping with flexible material an article that is at least roughly of spheroidal shape cornprising:

means for rotating a said article about a given axis and for simultaneously moving that article forward along a given path perpendicular to the axis of rotation with the said wrapping material disposed around that article except for a given surface area thereof which generally faces a direction parallel to said rotation axis and from which area the wrapping material surrounding that area generally extends outwardly,

brush means including stationary brushes for folding the said outwardly extending wrapping material closingly atwise against the said given surface area of the article as it rotates and moves forward as aforesaid,

wherein said rotating means includes at least one article container and the improvement is characterized by: means upstream from at least said folding means for feeding said wrapping material forward over said container in partially severed sheet form subject to full severing only when an article is dropped thereonto and therewith into said container, and

means for stopping the feeding of said wrapping material upon sensing the pressure of Wrapping material still over the container instead of in the container as aforesaid.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 16 2,915,861 12/1959 Voullaire 53-34 3,260,030 7/1966 Wach et al. 53-34 3,383,832 5/1968 Grant et al 53-209 5 TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner N. ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

